Thursday, September 04, 2008
News
Veterans could get funds due to them from levy
By DOMINIC ADAMS Argus-Press Staff Writer
CORUNNA - Veterans in Shiawassee County may get more resources if the Shiawassee County Board of Commissioners decides to invoke a millage that's been on the books for more than a century.
Public Act 214 - established in 1899 - allows the commissioners to levy up to one-tenth of a mill for relief of indigent veterans or their families and active-duty soldiers and their families.
Currently, the Veterans Affairs Office in Shiawassee County receives more than $50,000 annually for operations, Director Robert Buschman said.
The money allows for burials and other emergency assistance, but it is not enough, Buschman said.
“I've tried to do what I can with what I have,” Buschman said. “Even though I keep asking for assistance with the budget, it just never gets done. Hopefully they (Shiawassee County Commissioners) would provide the funding. If they don't, I'll just have to make do.”
And so will the 6,200-plus veterans across the county.
Commissioner Jack Johnson, D, District-3, said one-tenth of a mill would generate $180,000.
He also said he plans to bring the issue before the Committee of the Whole at the end of the month. Johnson said the county could make the move effective September 2009.
“We've been dragging our feet too long,” Johnson said. “The veterans need this now, not when we get around to it.”
Three veterans have committed suicide in the last three months, Johnson claims. Another 40 to 50 veterans stay with friends, family or don't have a residence of their own.
With wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, more soldiers are coming back with post-traumatic stress disorder, Johnson and Buschman said.
“They need that counseling and we have no way of getting them there,” Buschman said of veterans in need of physiological help. “They are basically on their own.”
The VA office could be open full-time, transportation made available, job placement and training services, a food pantry, veterans' benefits counselors and other services may come to fruition if officials decide to give the money to the veterans in Shiawassee County.
“Veterans tend not to ask for help,” Johnson said. “They serve their county - they don't ask for help.”
Johnson said he first brought the issue up more than a year ago.
Opponents said the county already offers plenty of services to veterans, but Johnson and Buschman disagree.
“Attrition is one of the biggest tools in politics,” Johnson said. “This month I'm pushing it.”
Eventually the measure should go on the ballot and residents should vote on a veterans' millage, Johnson said.
He said he wanted to get the $180,000 from the county's current budget, but he felt he didn't have any say during the Aug. 12 budget work session.
Public Act 214 - established in 1899 - allows the commissioners to levy up to one-tenth of a mill for relief of indigent veterans or their families and active-duty soldiers and their families.
Currently, the Veterans Affairs Office in Shiawassee County receives more than $50,000 annually for operations, Director Robert Buschman said.
The money allows for burials and other emergency assistance, but it is not enough, Buschman said.
“I've tried to do what I can with what I have,” Buschman said. “Even though I keep asking for assistance with the budget, it just never gets done. Hopefully they (Shiawassee County Commissioners) would provide the funding. If they don't, I'll just have to make do.”
And so will the 6,200-plus veterans across the county.
Commissioner Jack Johnson, D, District-3, said one-tenth of a mill would generate $180,000.
He also said he plans to bring the issue before the Committee of the Whole at the end of the month. Johnson said the county could make the move effective September 2009.
“We've been dragging our feet too long,” Johnson said. “The veterans need this now, not when we get around to it.”
Three veterans have committed suicide in the last three months, Johnson claims. Another 40 to 50 veterans stay with friends, family or don't have a residence of their own.
With wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, more soldiers are coming back with post-traumatic stress disorder, Johnson and Buschman said.
“They need that counseling and we have no way of getting them there,” Buschman said of veterans in need of physiological help. “They are basically on their own.”
The VA office could be open full-time, transportation made available, job placement and training services, a food pantry, veterans' benefits counselors and other services may come to fruition if officials decide to give the money to the veterans in Shiawassee County.
“Veterans tend not to ask for help,” Johnson said. “They serve their county - they don't ask for help.”
Johnson said he first brought the issue up more than a year ago.
Opponents said the county already offers plenty of services to veterans, but Johnson and Buschman disagree.
“Attrition is one of the biggest tools in politics,” Johnson said. “This month I'm pushing it.”
Eventually the measure should go on the ballot and residents should vote on a veterans' millage, Johnson said.
He said he wanted to get the $180,000 from the county's current budget, but he felt he didn't have any say during the Aug. 12 budget work session.